I didn't know John Maeda was Asian

Recently I have been regularly watching lectures from TED talks. I watched one on simplicity given by John Maeda, a name that has been in in the background of my life for awhile now. His name seems to serendipitously appear whenever graphic design, information aesthetics, or programming is concerned. You can't escape his name when thinking of Reebok, Pentegram, or the Media Lab. It was surprising to me to learn that he is Japanese-American. The image I had in my mind had always been that of an old white man. I am pleasantly surprised although I know I shouldn't be.